Alcoholism is a Disease

Oct 22, 2018

Alcohol dependence is a previous psychiatric diagnosis in which an individual is physically or psychologically dependent upon alcohol. In 2013, it was reclassified as alcohol use disorder or alcoholism along with alcohol abuse in DSM.
Source: Wikipedia

The above-mentioned paragraph shows the exact definition of alcoholism in medical terminology.

Now the question here is whether alcoholism really a disease? Well, if you ask us, it’s not a disease. But, having said that, it is important to mention that it’s very close to having a disease. You see disease is something that you catch involuntarily, it’s not that you go out hunting for it. Hence, we cannot actually term alcoholism as a disease. It’s something which you have done to yourself. Nobody had asked you to go ahead and have a drink and then gradually get addicted to it.

Disease or not, but, alcohol dependence or alcoholism is becoming a very serious issue for the American society. A study conducted by Dr. Neehar Parekh recently concluded that suffering from cirrhosis of the liver is on the rise among young people between the age of 25 to 35. The findings actually are quite alarming. Kentucky, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Indiana are some of the states that are witnessing very high levels of young people becoming victims of alcoholic liver cirrhosis. What does this study tell us? We will tell you exactly what it means. It means that although nobody asked no one to get addicted to alcohol but still young people especially in Indiana are falling prey to this dreaded addiction.

“Harvard Health reported in 2017 that a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism study showed 20 percent of 17-years-old people reported drinking regularly, with 13 percent of those reporting binge drinking.”

If a person is a habitual drinker by the age of 17, then, chances of him becoming a full-blown alcoholic by the time he reaches 25 or 30 are pretty high. What kind of youth are we actually nurturing? Are these guys even aware of the damage that they are bringing upon themselves and to those who care about them? Is there anybody educating the youth about the long-term effects of alcohol abuse? If they are, they are not doing it right!

Being into the business of rehabilitation, we see young people falling prey to alcoholism everyday. Who is at fault? Well, rather than playing the finger pointing game, lets deal with the situation in hand. We have youth here that is in trouble and they need help. They need rehabilitation and they need to see the light because their entire life is lying in front of them. These are the people who have to bear the responsibility of the future. Let’s not leave them in the dark, we have to strike a conversation and do things that bring their attention to this potentially self destructive habit.

It’s always wise to nip the problem as and when you see it. Parents should be the first counselors for their children. Since bad habits are being picked up at an early age, won’t it be really sane to talk and educate our children about the consequences of consuming alcohol before they are actually exposed to bad things? In most of the cases, it all would start with a single drink and end on the deathbed. Let’s work towards preventing youngsters from having that first sip of this poison.